CA1039063A - Flash-reducing agent for powder - Google Patents

Flash-reducing agent for powder

Info

Publication number
CA1039063A
CA1039063A CA231,083A CA231083A CA1039063A CA 1039063 A CA1039063 A CA 1039063A CA 231083 A CA231083 A CA 231083A CA 1039063 A CA1039063 A CA 1039063A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
powder
alkali metal
metal ions
cation exchange
bound
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA231,083A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Mats J. M. Olsson
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Saab Bofors AB
Original Assignee
Bofors AB
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Bofors AB filed Critical Bofors AB
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1039063A publication Critical patent/CA1039063A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C06EXPLOSIVES; MATCHES
    • C06BEXPLOSIVES OR THERMIC COMPOSITIONS; MANUFACTURE THEREOF; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS EXPLOSIVES
    • C06B23/00Compositions characterised by non-explosive or non-thermic constituents
    • C06B23/04Compositions characterised by non-explosive or non-thermic constituents for cooling the explosion gases including antifouling and flash suppressing agents

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Compositions Of Macromolecular Compounds (AREA)
  • Fireproofing Substances (AREA)
  • Agricultural Chemicals And Associated Chemicals (AREA)
  • Organic Low-Molecular-Weight Compounds And Preparation Thereof (AREA)
  • Treatment Of Water By Ion Exchange (AREA)
  • Pharmaceuticals Containing Other Organic And Inorganic Compounds (AREA)

Abstract

A B S T R A C T
A method of incorporating a flash-reducing alkali metal in a powder, characterized in that the alkali metal in an ion form is bound to a solid organic polymer in a substance insoluble in water which has the capability of binding cations and that this substance is thereafter mixed into the powder.

Description

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~; The present invention relates to a new method of incorporating a flash-reducing alkali metal in a powder paste produced in a water susperision.
", ~ .
When firing with artillery and other firea ms it is desired, to the extent possible, to prevent a muzzle flash from arising at the firing. It has been known for a long time that in many cases such a muzzle flash can be prevented in cases where it - would otherwise have arisen,if a small quantity of an alkali salt is added to the powder charge. Therefore, for a long time, certain sodium and potassium salts of both organic and inorganic acids have been used for this purpose.

However, an alkali salt must fulfil certain requirements in order that it may be used as a flash-reducing agent, and this has considerably limited the choice. For instance, a flash-reducing agent must not have a detrimental influence on the stability of the powder, and it should contribute as little as possible towards formation of smoke at the firing, at the same time as the flash reducing agent should not give rise to corrosive cornbustion products, hut if possible should f~
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,, ,, , .' , ~, ~' . , preferably have a corrosion-inhibiting effect. Nor can a strongly h~roscopic salt which can induct water into the powder and thereby influence the properties of the powder be used as a 1ash-reducing agent~ Thus, a flash~reducing agent should if possible have a low solubility in water.

Certain alkali salts of organic acid such as sodium oxalate and potassium hydrogen tartrate fulfil most of these require-ments quite well, and have therefore been used generally as flash-reducing agents. Of the inorganic salts, it i5 primarily potassium sulphate that has been used.

However, one of the previously mentioned requirements for a good flash-reducing agent which these older types of flash-reducing agents fulfil rather poorly is the requirement for low solubility in water, but with the powder manufacturing methods hitherto used, a low solubility in water of the flash-reducing agent has been a desire, but not an absolute requirement. In new processes for the manufacture of powder, however, where water is present at considerably more stages of the manufacturing process, for safety and other reasons, than at the older processes, the desire for a low solubility in water is no longer a desire, but has become an absolute requirement.

Among the different flash-reducing additives hitherto used in the manufacture of powder, cryolite (Na3Al F6) and potassium aluminium fluoride (K3Al F6~ are primarily those which fulfil the requirements for a very low solubility in water, but these two flash-reducing agents have the dis-advantage that at a given alkali content, at the combustion of the powder, they give rise to a greater quantity of solid particles, which increases the smoke formation to a consider-able degree, compared with the previously mentioned more easily soluble flash-reducing agents of the type sodium oxalate, potassium hydrogen tartrate or potassium sulphate.
Particularly in daytime, such a heavy formation of smoke can ~ 10222 ~A0~ .
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be more revealing when firing with artillery'then a big muzzle flas~l. Cryolite and potassium aluminium fluoride, which have ~llso been tried as ~lash-reducin~ agents, at e.g.
the combustion procluce aluminium oxide and 1uorine salts as decomposition products, which cause both wear and corrosion in the barrel. Thus, from this point of vie ~, these two flash-reducing agents are not very appropri te.

The present invention relates to an entirel~ ; new method of adding a sufficient quantity of flash-reduc ng alkali metal to a powder. It has quite surprisingly been found that alkali metal ions do not necessarily need to be added in the form of a salt, but that it is also possible to bind alkali metal ions in a sufficient quantity to some substance that is inert towards the powder, which has the capability of binding cations with fairly good duration, and thereafter add this substance to the powder. Through the combustion of the powder, the alkali metal will then be released, and can then serve as a flash-reducing agent. Appropriate basic materials for this new type of flash-reducing agent have proved to be such solid compounds as are built up of so-callPd three-dimensional cross-linked ions, which form a coherent skeleton around an infinite number of very small internal cavities. Such bodies, built up of three-dimensional cross-linked ions have the capability of binding ions with limited space extent in the cavities, as well as uncharged molecules. If the cavities form through-going channels which permit ions or molecules to pass to and from the surface of the body, an exchange of these ions can usually take place between the solid body -and a liquid or gaseous phase surrounding it. Solid materials built up of thr~dimensional cross-linked ions ~hich have this property of, without external changes, exchan~eably bindin~
foreign ions,are usually called ion exchangers, as they have primarily come to be used in this capacity. There are both .' O ) :. .
~ , . ' ' 1 10222 ~A0) 103~6;~
organic and inorganic ion exchangers, but it has been possible to establish that it is primarily the organic ion exchangers that can be used as flash-reducing agents, after first having been charged with alkali metal ions, which can most simply be done in a particularly saturated alkali metal salt solution.
The organic ion exchangers consist of skeletons of high-polymer synthetic resins, so-called network polymers, insoluble in most solvents, which have an irregular build and have become entirely amorphous, and which in the inner cavities of the network contain firmly bound negative or positive groups which~ in turn, can bind cations or anions, respectively, which can there-after be exchanged through the network. As the alkali metals form positive ions, only cation exchangers can come into question in this connection.
In a first aspect this invention seeks to provide a method of in-corporating a flash-reducing alkali metal in an explosive or propellant pow-der which comprises obtaining water-insoluble cation exchange organic polymer having alkali metal ions bound thereto; and then adding said water-insoluble cation exchange polymer to said explosive or propellant powder.
In a second aspect this invention seeks to provide an explosive or propellant powder which comprises a water-insoluble cation exchange organic polymer having alkali metal ions bound thereto in an amount sufficient to re-duce the flash of said powder.
A substantial advantage of the organic ion exchangers is that these produce mainly gaseous conbustion products, naturally with the exception of possibly bound inorga~ic ions of e.g. the type alkali metal ions. me firmly bound negative groups in a cation exchanger usually consist of sulphonate groups - SO3 - which in the original position bind hydrogen ions which, in turn, through the network polymer can at least partly be replaced by other cations, e.g. alkali metal ions.
The cation exchangers commercially available are made with a struc-ture and grain form that permit a rapid and reversible exchange of cations.
Ihis particular structure cannot be used in this connection, and we can there-fore, according to a variant of the invention, use considerably simpler com-pounds than those used in the commercial ion exchangers. The main reason for ~ _ 4 _ B

,, .

.

g~63 this is that the basic material in question consists o~ organic substances which contain a large portion Or acid groups, whereby the alkali metal ions can be bound in a similar way as in the fully developed ion exchangers. In this connectionS it is also advantageous, but not absolutely necessary that the basic material for the flash-reducing agent . .
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';'' ' ~ ' ' ' ' ~; '. ' ' " '; ' . . ' . . . ' , '. . ' ' '.

103~
can be obtained entirely free from sulphur, e.g. in the form of sulphonate groups.

Thus, in this connection, the designation ion exchanger is not limited to the commercia]ly available ion exchangers, but also comprises all other material with similar properti~s.

In order that a flash-reducing agent o the kind outlined above shall not influence the stability of the powder, its alkali additive should be adapted to neutral reaction in water.

The invention described above has been defined in the following claims, and in the following example, Example .
A conventional ion exchanger designated ~WASOR~ ~ A iO
from Bayer Kemi AB, available in the general market, was suspended in water, after which a potassium hydroxide solution was added to neutral reaction~ The ion exchanger thereby potassium charged was thereafter dried, and was then ready for use.
, , In order to investigate the flash-reducing effect, three different powders were made, with the following compositions.
'' I~
I II III I
by weight % by weight % by weight Cellulose nitrate91.0 89.5 89.5 Glycerol trinitrate5.0 5.0 5.0 Diphenylamine 1.0 1.0 1.0 Dinitrotoluene 1.5 1.5 1.5 ...
Trinitrotoluene 1.5 1.5 1.5 Potassium hydrogen tartrate (previously known type ` of flash-reducing agent) 1.5 L~JA~SOR~ ~ A 10 (potassium ion activated) 1.5 : -. .
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: :
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6.

10391~63 Firing tests of the powder were carried out with calibre 7.62 mm, and the flash was judged visually. 1, Test I gave a big flash, while test II and est III did not give any flash at all. .

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': ;, ,;::, ' , :' ': . . . ': - ' ~ , .
, - ~: . . '. : --: '-:: . . . '' ' . .

Claims (14)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A method of incorporating a flash-reducing alkali metal in an ex-plosive or propellant powder which comprises obtaining water-insoluble cation exchange organic polymer having alkali metal ions bound thereto; and then adding said water-insoluble cation exchange polymer to said explosive or propellant powder.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said cation exchange organic polymer contains large portion of acid groups which are at least partially replace-able by alkali metal ions.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said cation exchange organic polymer has firmly bound sulphonate groups wherein the alkali metal ions are bound in exchange for hydrogen ions.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the alkali metal ions are bound to the cation exchange organic polymer by contacting said polymer and a saturated alkali metal salt solution.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein said alkali metal ions are potassium ions.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein said powder contains cellulose nitrate.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein said powder further contains glycerol trinitrate, diphenylamine, dinitrotoluene, and trinitrotoluene.
8. An explosive or propellant powder which comprises a water-insoluble cation exchange organic polymer having alkali metal ions bound thereto in an amount sufficient to reduce the flash of said powder.
9. The powder of claim 8 wherein said cation exchange organic polymer contained large portion of acid groups which were at least partially replaced by alkali metal ions.
10. The powder of claim 8 wherein said cation exchange organic polymer has firmly bound sulfonate groups wherein the alkali metal ions are bound in exchange for hydrogen ions.
11. The powder of claim 8 wherein said alkali metal ions are potassium ions.
12. The powder of claim 8 which further contains cellulose nitrate.
13. The powder of claim 12 which further contains glycerol trinitrate, diphenylamine, dinitrotoluene, and trinitrotoluene.
14. The powder of claim 8 wherein the cation exchange organic polymer has bound thereto an amount of alkali metal ions whereby the polymer exhibits neutral reaction in water.
CA231,083A 1974-07-09 1975-07-08 Flash-reducing agent for powder Expired CA1039063A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
SE7408998A SE7408998L (en) 1974-07-09 1974-07-09 FLASH DAMPER FOR POWDER.

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1039063A true CA1039063A (en) 1978-09-26

Family

ID=20321673

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA231,083A Expired CA1039063A (en) 1974-07-09 1975-07-08 Flash-reducing agent for powder

Country Status (13)

Country Link
US (1) US4078955A (en)
BE (1) BE830566A (en)
CA (1) CA1039063A (en)
CH (1) CH621535A5 (en)
DE (1) DE2530656C2 (en)
ES (1) ES439088A1 (en)
FI (1) FI59785C (en)
FR (1) FR2277794A1 (en)
GB (1) GB1500999A (en)
IT (1) IT1040610B (en)
NL (1) NL7508107A (en)
NO (1) NO140467C (en)
SE (1) SE7408998L (en)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1986001796A1 (en) * 1984-09-11 1986-03-27 The Commonwealth Of Australia Care Of The Secretar Gun flash suppressants
FR3056583B1 (en) * 2016-09-26 2018-10-19 Airbus Safran Launchers Sas COMPOSITE PYROTECHNIC PRODUCT COMPRISING A POTASSIUM SALT-TYPE ANTI-LIGHT AGENT

Family Cites Families (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE196486C (en) *
US1838345A (en) * 1928-04-13 1931-12-29 Du Pont Propellent powder
US1838346A (en) * 1928-06-16 1931-12-29 Du Pont Propellent powder
US1838347A (en) * 1929-04-22 1931-12-29 Du Pont Propellent powder
DE640312C (en) * 1930-08-23 1937-01-05 Du Pont Process for producing a propellant charge for projectiles
US2026531A (en) * 1934-03-20 1936-01-07 George C Hale Propellent powder
US2035471A (en) * 1934-03-20 1936-03-31 George C Hale Propellent powder
DE691679C (en) * 1938-04-17 1940-06-03 Westfaelisch Anhaltische Spren Process for making low-smoke powder
US2228309A (en) * 1939-12-13 1941-01-14 Hercules Powder Co Ltd Propellent powder
US2439281A (en) * 1942-03-07 1948-04-06 Drew & Co Inc E F Flashless propellant powder composition
US2396074A (en) * 1942-05-13 1946-03-05 Drew & Co Inc E F Propellant powders containing pelargonic esters
US2577298A (en) * 1946-05-03 1951-12-04 Alpheus M Ball Flashless powder sheet
US2889216A (en) * 1957-06-14 1959-06-02 Olin Mathieson Incorporation of water soluble salts in propellent powder
US3713376A (en) * 1971-03-22 1973-01-30 Gen Electric Air conditioner air directing means

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE2530656A1 (en) 1976-01-29
FI59785B (en) 1981-06-30
FI59785C (en) 1981-10-12
FR2277794B1 (en) 1979-05-04
NO140467B (en) 1979-05-28
DE2530656C2 (en) 1984-07-19
NO140467C (en) 1979-09-05
BE830566A (en) 1975-10-16
FI751851A (en) 1976-01-10
SE7408998L (en) 1976-01-12
GB1500999A (en) 1978-02-15
NO751965L (en) 1976-01-12
NL7508107A (en) 1976-01-13
CH621535A5 (en) 1981-02-13
US4078955A (en) 1978-03-14
FR2277794A1 (en) 1976-02-06
IT1040610B (en) 1979-12-20
ES439088A1 (en) 1977-03-01

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